In a time where epic fantasy needs its much needed spotlight, Ayinde has come with a good start to a new trilogy firmly in this category.
This multi-POV story with ancestral magic, betrayal and overlapping mystery plot spans the Nine Lands and characters which have interesting dynamics with the ancestors/beings they call upon to help them in their time of need.

The world Ayinde has created is a melting point of (pre-colonial) cultures which plays a role into the magic system, character names and appearances. It’s a slow burn sort of story (as is expected of a tale of this magnitude) with the last 20% providing revelation to the plot threads spun from the beginning.

An intriguing start to the Invoker Trilogy which fans of epic/high fantasy will find indulgent and true to the genre it falls under

A thrilling debut novel, A Song of Legends Lost is an epic fantasy-sci-fi about revenge, oppression, rebellion, and the traumas of war. I was invested from the start by the high quality writing, unique worldbuilding, engaging characters, and the deep mysteries surrounding the magic and/or technological systems in play. It's hard to believe this is a first novel.

In the Nine Lands, the noble Nine Families can summon the spirit of their ancestors to continue fighting the cybernetic "Greybloods" who constantly invade and terrorise their lands. "Lowbloods" - everyone not part of the Nine Families - are fodder in the wars between these powerful summoners and the monstrous mechanical enemies. Technology is forbidden due to its ties to the Greyblood enemy forces, and only the secretive nuns and priests can safely wield a few small tech relics from the long-dead Scathed race who once lived in technological splendor. The rules surrounding relics and summoning are set in stone... until Temi, a Lowblood young woman, is implanted with an unknown spirit against her will. The spirit plans to spark a rebellion--and he's not the only one.

In the tradition of epic fantasy, there is a large cast to follow but some appear quite late and some early characters drop out for large sections of the novel. I enjoyed all the point-of-view characters (and many of the side characters, of course), though it was harder to emotionally engage with characters who only appeared past the 50% mark of the book. It's hard for me to tell if that's because one of them is clearly an antagonist (even if they don't know it), or because I had limited care to give and it was already taken by the other characters who'd appeared earlier--even by the end, I couldn't tell the reason for why I disliked this particular character. Their chapters gave necessary information, so I didn't hate their chapters, but I never wanted them to succeed and wouldn't mind if they weren't a POV character again (though I'm sure they will be).

If there's any criticism on the characters, it's that some of them come off as too lacking in intelligence. One POV character who stays throughout the entire novel keeps repeating the same mistakes over and over and over... it starts to defy reason that they never learn or change. Another character seems far too naive for their background to not realise what horrible things are happening around them, and that they themselves are causing. Of course not every character (especially in a story with a huge cast like this) is going to be highly intelligent. But it shouldn't be getting to the point where even a child would have learned or realised certain things by now, but these adults keep failing. I am also still mad that Temi disappears for too much of the book--absent from ch13 until ch42, when she's one of the most engaging and interesting POVs. Naturally Temi is a favourite of mine, as was Elari, and to my surprise I came to care for Jinao and Boleo more than I originally thought I would. I hope Lyela is a main POV character in the next book, though I won't be terribly surprised if she remains more a mystery in-the-background character either.

The worldbuilding is amazing. I'm really into the juxtaposition of African cultures with out-of-control advanced cybertech enemies, the dance-summon magic versus brain implants to talk to the gods/ancestors... There's a lot of sci-fi elements with the technology, but the genre of the book is definitely fantasy. Not only because the people of the Nine Lands view the technology as magic, but in the structure of the world and the plot. The author also doesn't dumb down the worldbuilding and overexplain things that the full audience might not be familiar with. They throw out the native, original words for various items like clothing, decorations, weapons, etc. and you go Google that term if you don't know what it is. I'm completely fine with that because white fantasy writers have been doing it with the precise/exact European words for armour, clothing, food, etc. for decades and readers have never had a problem with it.

Like any good epic fantasy, the plot rockets along with many moving parts and many disjointed threads that slowly start to weave together to form the bigger overall picture. Mostly the novel does well on this front--I was always engaged and eager to know more, and it was exciting when a tiny snippet would drop and I could put the pieces together myself before the author confirmed things on the page. My only complaint for plot would be that by the end of this novel (the first of a trilogy, so 33.33% through the full story) many of the human plans are starting to form into the bigger picture, but the spirit/ancestor side is still very much not. Also, the motivation of the king declaring an invasion that leaves his lands unprotected is an absolute mystery that makes no sense. I will absolutely be buying the next book, but this much confusion left at the end of the first novel frustrates me--I had hoped to see more of the bigger picture by this point.

Fair warning: there was a point in the novel where I got some potential internal-coloniser-mindset author vibes, but by the end of the novel I was relieved to have been mistaken. If you need some (very world-spoilerific) details before deciding whether this novel is for you: <spoilers hidden behind Goodreads' spoiler tags>.

Overall I enjoyed this immensely. One of the more engaging epic fantasies I've read in a long time with so many unique aspects that leave A Song Of Legends Lost feeling fresh and exciting. I will absolutely be picking up this series. A few minor frustrations keep me from giving it a full 5 stars, but this is so close: a 9 out of 10, or 4.5 stars. If only Goodreads would let us use half-marks.


Rating: 4.5 stars, rounding down as always -- Engaging and unique fantasy with African cultures, summoning spirits to fight for you like your favourite JRPG, and mysterious cybertech including a bedraggled No-Cat companion that follows someone home and refuses to leave (peak cat behaviour).

An epic fantasy debut, incredibly ambitious that manages to deliver. Consider me impressed..
I picked up A Song of Legends Lost with moderate expectations, based on the fact it was a debut and that some of the early reviewers mentioned it was too long. Happy to say that for the right audience this will be a fantastic read. What I mean by that is that this is an absolutely epic, sometimes demanding and complex fantasy read. This is not targeted towards newcomers in the genre.
It's multi POV, african inspired story with a fast pace and plenty of action. The worldbuilding is expanse and very interesting. The African setting is unique and combined with the story it's tottally absorbing. The author chooses to mainly show and not tell, so there is minimal infodumping and the readers must learn about the world as they progress into the book. That is the demanding part. There is so much going on, and so many characters, that you have to really pay attention to what's going on. The characters for the most part are really well done and the story takes them to some unexpected places. The prose was neither overly simplistic nor too flowery.
As I said above this is pretty epic and in the end there are still some questions we don't get answers to. Those will have to wait for the sequel I guess.
If I had to find some critisisms I would say that the pace is a bit too fast. There is constantly something happening from the get go and I could have used some time to take a breathe and reflect on all the events or spend some time with some of the characters to understand them a bit better.
I think fans of The Last War trilogy from Mike Shackle will eat this up.
Thanks to NetGaley and Orbit for providing me with the arc for this.

This was absolutely the epic fantasy that I didn't know I've been needing. The world building is deep and vivid and I felt so immersed, I kept losing track of time. The true magic of fantasy novels for me is when you can completely disappear into the world and it feels vividly and violently real around you. It felt like a glorious mash-up of Final Fantasy style sweeping battles and characters who felt intimately real and human. I was so invested in this story and the characters, and I would straight up die for Runt in particular.

Can't wait to continue this series and read more from the author, I believe this is her debut and it's an absolute stunner.

<b>thank you to orbit and netgalley for my advanced copy! <3 </b>

tl;dr:
i enjoyed this novel, and i'm really looking forward to seeing what this author does in the future. i did find the first 50% or so to be a little bogged down in the details, but by the end, i was very taken with the plot and i'm looking forward to seeing everyone's theories!

characters:
i really liked the varied cast of characters, and how we experienced the different walks of life through their eyes. there aren't any that i'm still thinking about a few days after finishing the book, but i think that's a consequence of having so many POVs.

world building:
i found this world absolutely fascinating. i liked the insights into different areas of the empire, and watching our characters travel meant it was never boring. in the coming books, i hope we do have a 'central' ish location for our characters to interact, but i did enjoy visiting different lands.

magic system:
this is where this novel really shines, in my opinion. invoking ancestors as defenders has such interesting implications, and as the story unfolds, the magic system just gets better and better.

overall, i enjoyed it but had some critiques, but if the blurb sounds like something you'd like, this is absolutely one to take a chance on.

This book has filled the gaping holes that the Throne of Glass and Game of Thrones series have left in my heart. A plethora of characters whom we follow and love throughout the start of this epic fantasy of rebellion and revenge.

A Song of Legends Lost follows the stories of a shunned General's son, a fierce lowblood, a rebellious monk, a traumatised Captain, and a morally grey pauper. In the Nine Lands, only those of highblood can summon the spirits of the ancestors to fight in a centuries long war with the Greybloods. That is until a lowblood invokes a powerful spirit which could hold the key to ending the war and unravel the world as it was once known. The contrast between all of these characters was so beautiful. I particularly loved the dichotomy between two funeral scenes showing one character's loving family and the other's unloving cold family. I had my heart in my mouth in so many scenes as Ayeinde unravels her complex, fantastical world. Temi has my heart and I feel would be an excellent friend. Runt was such an exciting character to read and I cannot wait to see her develop and see how she fits as the story progresses. I can't say more without spoiling!

This novel unravelled so wonderfully and wickedly - just when I thought I knew what was coming, the path shifted and new facts emerged. At the 50% mark I vividly remember going "Oh shit, it was all a lie!" And proceeded to have "Oh shit" moments going on from there right until the last page!

Those epilogues have me in a chokehold, and now I am patiently waiting for the second book. I really can't wait to learn more about the Greybloods and their origin. I also can't wait to know more about Aan's kin and what they stand for. M. H. Ayinde is an epic contender in the fantasy space and I cannot wait to read more of her work! Watch out Sanderson and Martin, Ayinde is incoming!

Now this was great! I went in with no expectations, honestly, I just knew it sounded neat when I first preordered it (I try to preorder the most intriguing fantasy/horror books throughout the year, within my budget of course) so when I requested it on NetGalley I just knew it was on my preorder list. Well anyway, allow me to offer you some quick expectations: A Song of Legends Lost is the first in a new epic fantasy trilogy by British author M.H. Ayinde. This is very West-African inspired (with a bit of a mix! I certainly noticed a little Indian culture in areas), it's a multi-POV story with four parts, and each character offers the story something different.

This is a world with a lost people, the Scathed, wiped out millenia ago by their own creations: the greybloods. These are kind of mechanical people, made out of the cursed techwork people are told to keep away from, and humanity has been at war with them for as long as they can remember. Here in the Nine Lands, humans are ruled over by the Royal Ahiki clan, the golden clan with golden eyes painful to look upon. And within this world, only those called upon through specialised rituals within the Nine Clans can invoke their ancestors, a power used to defend against the attacking greyblood armies. Only... Temi begins hearing a voice in her mind, somebody who is not her ancestor, and the ancestors turn away from those who do not use the gifts they are given. Sounds good right?

So we've got a kind of arcane techwork that must be "cleansed" by a Royal Monk, it is forbidden for anybody but them to touch it as it is allegedly cursed. There are ... oh there are just so many moving parts to this book I couldn't even begin to explain it to you, just trust me. Each perspective moves the story along in its own way, and by the end paints a whole picture, and the way everything comes together, man, I couldn't stop reading. I have read the most I've read all year so far over the past 3 days because of this book. It's so unique, complex in a very good and satisfying way, and I loved all the characters. I wish I could dive right into the next book! But I will have to be patient.

I can however urge you to consider checking this one out! Especially if you're looking for queernormative epic fantasy written by an amazing black woman. It releases on the 8th April 2025, and I cannot wait to see how the rest of this trilogy pans out and yes I was naughty and went off and preordered the special edition from Goldsboro Books. Hey I may want to revisit this one, may as well do it in style, right?

2.5 stars rounded down.
A promising start that turned into a boring slog. I probably should have stopped reading but I was genuinely interested in some of the plotlines.

The worldbuilding and the story are the strongest parts of A Song of Legends Lost. The setting of the Nine Lands is inspired variously by Nigeria, India, Mesoamerica, and probably others. The land is littered with ruins of the Scathed, who left behind mysterious technology, called techwork, and the greybloods, artificial creatures who have been attacking the humans in an endless war. Only monks and nuns are allowed to use techwork, as it supposedly needs to be cleansed before it can be used safely. Members of the highblood families can summon the spirits of their ancestors to aid in battle, called invoking. All of this is really interesting and different from most other fantasy. I won't get into the plot, but it sets up some intriguing mysteries and is what kept me reading to the end.

Unfortunately, the book is let down by two things: mediocre writing and characters that I did not care about.

The actual prose was mostly okay except for some strange word choices, but there were often times when something would be mentioned for the first time in a scene, but as if we already knew about it, which was confusing and would make me go back to see if I'd missed something. There were other small mistakes (I assume) which confused me. For example, in this quote:
"Princen Hothin, Lord Jinao here has a particular interest in the invokers of other lands. He was telling me just the other day that the shadow he invokes is mightier than all the others."
the speaker is referring to Hothin and addressing Jinao in the second sentence, but because they started the first sentence addressing Hothin, it makes it sound like the second sentence is about Jinao. In general the descriptions of places were quite sparse, and I found it difficult to picture things, although the author was better when it came to describing people.

The real problem was the characters. I couldn't really get attached to any of them except maybe Jinao and Temi. Their reactions and emotions all seemed so surface level, even after events that should have been very impactful. There is also a lack of meaningful interaction between any characters. I don't think I could point to any really interesting relationships in the whole book.

While the story was good it slowed down a lot in the middle, with a lot of scenes that are repetitive or don't advance the plot much. Elari's chapters were particularly hard to get through because she was extremely passive. In most of her scenes she is either asking Lyela to do something or just reacting to events. And her 'doves' were meant to be endearing I think, but mostly they just annoyed me because they kept wanting to kill people who were trying to tell Elari important things. The pace does pick up toward the end of the book, and I found the ending decent.

There are a few big reveals about the history of the setting. While these come as a shock to the characters, they fell flat for me, either because I had inferred them early on or because the book hadn't emphasised the 'lie' enough - there was no indication of the importance of this to the characters.

I think this book could still be enjoyable for someone who doesn't mind less emphasis on characterisation, or who is really interested in non-medieval fantasy settings. There is a lot to praise here and I would try this author again, but this one didn't work for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC.

So before I start my review, from the synopsis, I thought this book would be centered around Temi only - but I found myself in the midst of a multi-character fantasy that is a lot more ambitious than I have anticipated. I'm certainly not mad about it though, but it certainly took me by surprise.

We follow multiple POVs in this book - Temi, Jinao, Boleo, Elari and Runt. Each of these characters are from a different part of the Nine Lands, and we follow them mostly on their own paths before finally crossing it with each other. I don't have a problem with the multi POV because I do feel like that's very common in high fantasies especially as ambitious as this one, but the way this book was structured in multiple parts and a character would be introduced in a new part made me struggle with this book a little bit. I thought each of the characters are all equally well written - each were fleshed out with their backstory and despite my initial struggle, I did enjoy reading their POVs. However, my favorite POV to follow were Temi and Jinao.

World buidling wise, this was also really good! I thought the whole concept of ancestral powers being inherited by their descendants was really interesting and new, and Ayinde executed it really well. I think my only issue would be that sometimes this book can drag a little bit and there are definitely certain moments that I feel like could be shorten a little bit.

Thank you to Orbit UK and Netgalley for the e-arc.

Four parts in this book, five POVs. A magic system that includes raising ancestors, put versus 'techwork'.

This book is not something you can read lightly, you will need all your braincells. But then you will be rewarded with epic fantasy that has a slow but thorough worldbuilding. Yes it takes a while until 'things happen' but once they do you can almost hear everything falling into place.

A great and diverse read, and nothing I've ever read before.

4/5 stars

Thank you @netgalley and @LittleBrownBookGroup_UK for the eARC!

#SongOfLegendsLost #Netgalley #Bookstagram

A Song of Legends Lost by M.H.Ayinde

What blast that was. This is my first ever ARC, but what is surprising is that this is MHAs debut book. I do also have to point out that cover 😍

The prologue really reels you in, and from then on, I didn't really slow down. I feel like MHA did a really wonderful job in setting up the world and giving us the viewpoints of our characters.

I really like the African inspired setting and out of the African inspired fantasy I've read, I've found this to be the most interactive and informative.

I like how we come across the mysteries that are set, and later on, we get to find out what the mystery is. I am also a fan of how the book is split into parts that involve different sets of characters. MHA for me, walks just on the right side of the line in terms of allowing the reader to join the dots and just being confusing.

I am also a big fan of drip feeding the worldbuilding and lore.
The world building and lore for me is a real strength of this book. I think the idea of invoking the spirit of an ancestor is so cool, the techworks that one can have, the greybloods, very well thought out and balanced.

The twists were awesome and I'm now excited for the next book! I feel like this was more of a plot driven story and with quite the number of characters and plot lines I would recommend this to the slightly more experienced reader who is looking for something very unique.

🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟. 5

This was a crazy good debut novel. The story was gripping, the world full of vibrant and interesting culture, and the mystery kept me thoroughly engaged throughout. However, I felt there might have been a few too many povs. Especially since the book is divided into parts, each focusing on different pov characters. I got particularly attached to one character from the first part, but they didn’t reappear until the very end, which did disappoint me a bit as i was very invested in their story. The reveal at the end about a certain baddie had me shook, and now I’m desperate for the next book to find out what happens next! Overall a very solid fantasy book with a unique world and magic system, interesting politics and both loveable and hate-able characters.

Thank you to Netgalley, Little Brown book group, Orbit for providing this ARC
My thoughts & review are my own:

This book has five POVs and is split into four parts. I didn't have any confusion and I felt the parts helped piece the story together nicely. I enjoyed the world building immensely, the magic system of invoking ancestors in battle was fascinating and the use of 'techworks' was thoroughly interesting.

Out of the five POVs we follow, I enjoyed Temi and Elari's the most; these were the chapters I was most looking forward to getting back to. These are fiercely strong women and I was absolutely here for the feminine rage.

So much happens but it never feels overwhelming. That being said, I am more of a 'go with the flow' reader and there's so much detail that I personally would have to keep notes of the finer details. As is, I vibed with this story and enjoyed the ride. This is true fantasy and I loved every moment of unraveling the world and characters.
It's quite a thick book, however you don't really notice, I found myself getting so lost in this world that time flew past and I wasn't ready for it to end. Speaking of the end, the twists the plot took had me absolutely shocked, I'm very much looking forward to continuing this series.

Back in October of 2024 I was at FantasyCon, I had a slot where there were no panels I wanted to attend to I stumbled into an epic fantasy reading where I listened to a debut author read the prologue of her upcoming release. That prologue lived rent free in my head rent free for months and I could wait to get my hand on the book, that prologue was from A Song of Legends Lost, and oh boy did this live up to the hype I generated in my own head.

This multi-POV epic fantasy debut is a tale of revenge and rebellion inspired by many pre-colonial tribes from the Middle East and Asia. With a beautifully diverse cast of character if you are looking to diversify your reading look no further than A Song of Legends Lost. Not only do we have the incredible non-western inspired world we also have LGBTQ+ representation seamlessly woven throughout the cast. On top of that I need to take a moment to talk about the *clears throat* STRONG FEMALE CHARACTERS.

Usually in a multi-POV story I find there is always one POV that I seem to gloss over and become uninterested in, however the way in which the POVs have been split up between the parts of the book was so well done that in every chapter something important was happening. Everything was relevant and there was no padding out of the story so make the book more fantasy tome(ish), an issue I’m seeing with more and more debuts in the epic fantasy space. The lack of filler made this a thoroughly enjoyable fast paced read, that made the stakes always seem high.

Finally, the magic system, the blend of the ancestral magic and techwork is an intriguing blend of sci-fi and fantasy, feeling both familiar and innovative at the same time. The techwork in particular is unlike anything I have personally read. The invoking of the ancestors is awesome, and I couldn’t help but think I’d love to see this on the big screen as I was reading.

All this combined made A Song of Legends Lost a breath of fresh air in a genre that while I love with my whole heart is becoming a bit stale in terms of innovation. I cannot recommend this enough and am waiting so impatiently for book 2.

Thank you to NatGalley and Orbit Books UK for an ARC copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Fantastic start loving the story. The magic system is an interesting take and love the idea behind the grey bloods .
I am invested in the POV characters and like how each chapter is dedicated to one of them. I haven't quite finished but looks forward to the end and the follow up books thank you M.H. Ayinde for my first ARC and for writing such a wonderful book #ASongofLegendsLost #NetGalley.

epic fantasy could be so back. what an ambitious debut, and i'm so glad it was this ambitious because it was so impeccably done. in awe of the skill on display here, from the prose to the worldbuilding to the character work to the sheer breadth of it all - it's so pleasant as a reader to be able to appreciate all the hard work that went in a project this big (in length but also in range).

i really loved the entire concept of the book from the get go, but i was so happy to discover that the story takes it much farther than i thought it might, and doesn't deny itself the depth it deserves. it asks questions and then relentlessly asks more, never satisfying itself with an easy answer, constantly wanting to do more and go just a little bit further. there's a lot of moving pieces in this, it's very impressive to see m. h. ayinde move them around while keeping track of them all and (crucially!) without leaving the reader fighting for their lives trying to remember everyone's names. don't be spooked like i was by the very long list of characters at the beginning, it's actually very pleasantly easy to dive into. it took me a while to read through it, which makes sense considering its size, but i don't feel like i had to sludge through a really long set up. the pacing is what you'd expect from the genre, yet there's such energy in the writing and different povs that it doesn't drag, i found myself going back to it easily and excitedly.

another thing i was pleasantly surprised by is how much i cared for each pov (almost) equally. usually there's always this character or that in fantasy books with so many povs that will fail to get me and feel more like something i have to get through than chapters i'm excited for, and i'm happy to report that i was deeply invested with every character and found the merging of their narratives at the end very satisfying. the themes of class, power and legacy are sooo refreshing as well, i love when a monarchy doesn't go unchallenged (too many fantasy books are way too comfortable with having kings in there). even in those more black and white conflicts (yes kings should be decapitated), i really had fun with the greyness of it all. the book pulls no punches and doesn't try to have its characters avoid consequences even when they are correct which again. much too rare in the recent fantasy i've read. its reversal of certain tropes (ancient civilization vs technology) is also a delight, and the uniqueness of the worldbuilding + constant striving to do even more than just reverse is one of this book's biggest strengths. it has many :-)

highly recommend this! also need to talk about horizon zero dawn with m. h. ayinde asap!!!

Thank you netgalley for this arc to read and review honestly, all thoughts are my own.

A song of legends lost is an epic fantasy and science fiction blend where 9 noble tribes of spirit invokers battle technological foes called "graybloods" to protect their home. The world is large and feels lived in with diverse cultures and queernormative language, I even spotten neopronouns! An often forgotten part of queer identity. Its a book that everyone can find themselves in.

S.O.L.L is a multipov book that utilizes its different points of view cleverly, showing us perspectives from different social classes and occupations. Temi, a girl from a rundown part of her city living with her large multigenerational family getting by with their bakery and providing lifesaving tech to their customers, we follow her journey with being discovered! Jinao, a man of noble blood who has failed to bond with his ancestor and therefore cannot summon him and his spiritual journey after a tragedy in his family. Elari, the spouse of an invoker and the captain of his quartet, who deals with the disapearence of her invoker and the aftermath. Boleo, a monk with a curious facination with the forbidden illegal tech and his story after a big discovery. And finally Runt, a peasant girl working for a wealthy crime family in exchange for scraps trying to keep her sick brother alive while guarding a treasure she recieved from her mysterious father.

Not only that but the book also uses these perspectives to build tension by knowing when to cut away and even leave out a POV for the entire middle section of a book, which was particularly painful. Its a book full of plottwists that never leave you feeling lost. The only downside for me is that I now have to wait for book two. And that the list of characters in the begining really should include family trees for these large families. For your readers sake, please. Any extra characters unrelated by blood could still be in a seperate list format.

My thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group for a free DRC of "A Song of Legends Lost" by M. H Ayinde.
This was my most anticipated Adult Fantasy Debut of 2025.
The African inspired setting and the ability to summon the ancestors in battle were fascinating
However I feel like I was drowning in the multitude of characters, five A4 pages of my notebook and the unnecesary descriptions of what everyone is wearing or drinking at funereal rites that were completely unnecesary.
I feel so bad for this author as she is highly creative and a nice person, but I need to be honest.
I blame the editor that should have kindly trimmed the excess fat of this novel.
With the right imput this 640 pages could have easily been the best debut of 2025 in around 400 pages.
I might return to the novel at some point as it had some potential, or maybe wait for the author's next project and hope she will get a better editor that is not afrad to take the neccesary steps.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. Enjoyed this one, although it is not an easy read. There are many POV's which normally I don't have any problem with, but in this book the POV chapters for certain characters were very far apart which made it harder to become immersed again in their story. Aside from this, there was a lot to enjoy here, within a rich complex story. There are two highlights regarding the magic system - the first being how unique it is and the second the complex relationship with technology. There are still has a lot of unanswered questions, and I do wish some of these had been explored more or better explained, but I will still pick up the next book in the series!

⤷ 4.25✩
Thanks to Orbit for providing me with the E-ARC via NetGalley.

A Song of Legends lost is an epic multi-pov fantasy story. It is incredibly engaging and does a lot of work regarding world building and character arcs. However, this has both its advantages and disadvantages.

Firstly, the book features many povs. Throughout the story you follow five characters, with a switch in perspective each chapter. This often made it difficult to recall what was happening to each character and thus to follow the intricacies of the story. Therefore it was hard to pick up certain story threads.

The large cast of main and side characters also posed a challenge considering following those threads. All of the character arcs are strong, but some were way more entertaining than others. The arcs of Temi, Runt and Jinao were ones I looked forwards to, while I cared less for Elari or Boleo.

The large and diverse cast contributes to a wide world with complex issues and great potential. Every chapter is a smaller puzzle piece of the larger whole. This makes the narrative more interesting, because you can already sense potential of how everything could come together perfectly, but again, specifics of these puzzle pieces are challenging to follow and remember.

A huge plus is the cultural aspect of the worldbuilding. The world is very unique and the magic system incredibly interesting. Overall, I greatly enjoyed the book, but you just need to be aware- It requires some serious brain power to keep up with the details!